Sunday, April 6, 2008

Getting Adjusted

The next morning Kristy immediately fed and watered the puppies, and Kim cleaned up the paper mess. One of the puppies had chewed up all the papers, and there were paper scraps everywhere on the porch. The girls had agreed to take care of these jobs as part of the agreement when we decided to add dogs to our family and to alternate weeks. Kim wondered if the puppies had a doggy door so that they could go outside maybe they would not make such a mess in the future.

I said that I would drop by the pet store on the way home and try to get it installed on the weekend. Once the doggy door was in, Kim got on the outside and Kris on the inside to teach the pups how to go in and out the door. Kim actually stuck her head in the door so that the dogs would get the idea. By Saturday night they were going in and out as they wished.

We had a garden in the back yard that backed up to the fence, and the dogs enjoyed barking at all the visiting rabbits, and that is why the Scotty got to be called MacGregor, since he seemed to be taking care of the garden like Mr. MacGregor in Peter Rabbit. We have a great pal who runs a bed and breakfast in Friday Harbor, Washington, out in the Puget Sound ,and he has called his B and B "Duffy House," and we liked the sound of Duffy, and so the Westie became MacDuff, usually shortened to Duffy.

Quickly we began to appreciate their personalities. MacGregor was a lover, and he always wanted to follow or sit next to MacDuff. Duffy was more naughty and kept getting into mischief. They both were loveable most of the time and thoroughly spoiled by Kim and Kris.

One day Keilah, Kris's best buddy at school, came by for a visit to see the new puppies. She thought that they were way cute and wondered if Kris has ever made doggy bisquits. The girls Googled home-made doggie bisquits on the internet and discovered several recipes that they wanted to try. Judy offered a Scotty cookie cutter from her collection, and the girls set to work. An hour later they had three dozen Scotty-dog bisquits and two adoring begging puppies waiting at the gate to the back porch. Each puppy got to try one, and MacGregor took his time and gently crunched the deliceous treat. Duffy gobbled his in a second and then tried to take MacGregor's away but got warned off with a show of teeth. The girls thought that Keilah should come by every day after school to give the pups a treat and then they could begin their training.